Millicent
by AlwaysPadfoot
Summary: She's the only one who can only see Millicent.


**AN: **For QLFC Season 7, Round 11. KEEPER: A character discovers they are/is discovered to be part creature (Restriction: not Fleur, Gabrielle, or Remus)

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**Millicent**

**AlwaysPadfoot**

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For many years it confused me why everyone thought that Millicent Bulstrode was ugly. For a while, I thought it was a joke that everyone seemed to be in on, but when I was in the fourth year I finally understood exactly why I saw her differently.

_You have Fae Blood, Morag. You will always perceive things as they truly are._

It explained a lot of things to me. Why I didn't fawn over Kenny Jonson in the year above. Why I didn't trust Padma's sister as much as everyone else in our dorm. But most of all it explained why to me Millicent was stunningly beautiful. It was clear that she wore a glamour, but what I didn't understand was why she used it to make herself uglier and why she'd used it since she was just eleven years old.

People talked behind her back, called her awful names and it wasn't until the fifth year that I started defending her. People would look at me sideways, and some people would try and convince me that I should agree that she was ugly.

_Morag, why do you defend her? That girl will never be beautiful._

_She's still a person._

I never once told anyone that I knew she was wearing a glamour charm because it was her business, not mine. I was desperate to meet her alone and tell her just how beautiful she was, plus there was a deep-rooted curiosity that had been building in my stomach for so many years.

That's why in the fifth year when I walked into her heading up to Transfiguration just after Halloween I simply stared at her.

"What are you looking at MacDougal?"

I caught my breath and picked up the books before blurting out. "I know."

Her facade cracked, if only for a split second, before her nose crinkled in disgust. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

I probably wouldn't have done it if we weren't in an empty corridor, but as she turned to leave I grabbed her wrist. "I can see just how beautiful you are really and if you ever want to talk about it, come find me."

She simply yanked her hand away and stalked off to Transfiguration. I followed her of course, taking my usual spot next to Su Li on the left-hand side of the classroom.

I found it hard to concentrate because when I thought back to that moment when her expression change for that short moment I was sure she looked scared. Why would she be so scared? Su Li suddenly took my attention from the Slytherin girl and launched into some gossip that appeared to concern exactly what Zach had been up to last night with Cara Williams from the year below.

She always knew what was going on, Su was incredibly observant despite not being the brightest Ravenclaw around. So I let myself get lost in her story, forgetting about the Slytherin across the other side of the classroom.

Over the next two weeks, I felt a great deal of confusion radiating from Millicent, but she was refusing to make eye contact with me.

However, after that, on a cold Sunday morning, where I seemed to be one of only a handful of people up, I felt someone knock into me and drop a small piece of paper on the table next to my plate. Letting my gaze lift slightly, I saw the back of a slim girl with long dark hair twisted up into a bun walking down the aisle between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin table.

My eyes then flickered back to the paper, which I carefully unfolded discretely at my place.

_Quidditch Pitch. Twenty minutes. _

My heart skipped a beat and I crumpled the paper up and dropped it into my jeans pocket. It took two weeks but maybe I was finally going to find out why the girl I'd truly seen for five years was not who everyone else saw.

Twenty minutes later I was leaning against the entrance to the House Changing Rooms, waiting for any sign of the mysterious girl from Slytherin.

Suddenly a hand grabbed me from behind and pulled me inside the changing room. I found myself pinned against the back of the door by none other than Millicent Bulstrode. I let myself get over the sudden shock before meeting her gaze, as puzzled and suspicious as it was.

"You said you could see me really," she sneered, "What did you mean?"

I knocked her hand away with a roll of my eyes, "I mean I can truly see you, I can see your hair neatly tied up in that bun, I can see your slim figure and soft features and most of all I can see how scared you are in your green eyes that I might know that you are wearing a glamour."

Millicent stepped back, her look giving away both her confusion and her consideration of running from me.

"How?"

I shifted uncomfortably. I couldn't tell her about my Fae Blood because it could put me and my family in danger. Being part Fae gave us abilities far more can just being to perceive things as they are.

"It's a long story," I finally said after long moments of almost complete silence.

"We've got time," she retorted.

"I've always seen you like this, ever since the first year," I replied, "When people used to talk behind your back about what your glamour looks like I thought there was sort of joke that I wasn't aware of. After a while, I realised that the way I saw you wasn't how everybody else saw you."

She stared at me, "That doesn't answer the question I asked, MacDougal."

"I know," I sighed. "I know, but I can't tell you why. I'm sorry, but I can't."

"That doesn't seem fair considering you know about me."

I fell silent, unsure of what to say or do considering the circumstances, particularly as I was still pinned against the wall by one of my Slytherin year mates. The experience was becoming oddly confusing as more time passed by.

I swallowed, "I'd appreciate it, since you know I'm not threatening you if you let go."

Millicent appeared for a moment to think about it before stepping back to give me a little room, although she didn't move too far.

"Does anyone else know?" I asked.

"No one but my father," she responded.

"Not even your Mum?" I questioned, slightly shocked by that revelation.

"My Mum's dead," she snapped. "She died when I was ten."

"Oh I'm -" I began.

"Don't say you're sorry," Millicent interrupted. "I hate it when people say that."

"Okay," I said, observing that she wasn't making eye contact with me, "What happened?"

"She was sick," she replied. "She'd been sick for years, and after my brother moved out, she got worse. Then she died just like that in the middle of the night."

Somehow we both ended up sitting on the floor just inside the changing rooms and I simply just let Millicent tell me about her mother. Her name was Gillian and before she got ill she'd worked for the Daily Prophet part-time. I was surprised when Millicent explained that her mother had worked very occasionally in the Muggle world too doing photoshoots for magazines as Millie's grandmother had been a Muggle model.

Her maternal grandparents had met in London, her grandfather had bumped into her accidentally on his way to the Ministry. Millie's Grandma, as far as she was aware, was the only Muggle she knew, but she hadn't seen her since her mother had passed away.

All things considered, Millicent seemed incredibly strong to keep all these secrets to herself because I sincerely doubted that she'd told anyone else about this.

Luckily the topic of conversation shifted to something more light-hearted, Quidditch.

"The Montrose Magpies would wipe the floor with the Holyhead Harpies, Mils," I laughed as we sat cross-legged fighting over which teams were better. Whilst I was a true Magpies fan, it appeared Millicent had an undying love for the Harpies.

She scoffed. "The Harpies are having such an amazing run right now that they'd run circles around your Magpies."

"Whatever," I smirked.

"You're on the Ravenclaw team aren't you?" Millicent asked.

"Yeah, beater," I answered with one raised eyebrow.

"Who pisses you off the most?"

"Chang, oh my god that girl can wind everyone up," I replied, making Millie laugh. "Would you never play?"

"Oh no, I'm incredibly average at flying," she admitted. "Besides I like being a supporter."

After a whole five hours and a bit, we decided to return to the castle before someone sent out a search party. We agreed to meet up in the library tomorrow before we split up and Millicent went up into the castle alone. I followed soon after accept I went up to the Ravenclaw Common Room to lie to my friends about where I'd been all morning.

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Millicent and I continued to meet up throughout the year, particularly over Christmas when there were fewer people around the castle, and as time went on we grew closer.

Unfortunately, just a week before we were due to leave for the summer holidays, Millie and I argued. It all started on the grounds, we were sat on the far side of the lake away from anyone else, letting the water lap at our feet when suddenly Millicent got her back up a little.

"Are you okay?" I asked, after long moments of unusually uncomfortable silence, "You seem a little, I don't know, tense."

"Sorry," she snapped. "Bloody hell MacDougal, I don't need babying."

"I was just asking," I said quickly before pausing, "I'm not babying you, I'm asking as your friend."

"I don't have friends," Millie responded.

I sat up, staring at her angrily, "You do know how to make a girl feel fucking unwanted."

"What do you care?" She retorted, "Are you a lesbian or something?"

I got to my feet, a look of disgust etched across my features, "Wow, come find me when you haven't got a stick up your arse Mils."

"Fuck off." She mumbled in response, but by that point, I'd already turned and started walking away. I was angry at her for being so aggressive and rude, but I was also annoyed at myself for being kind of pushy. I should have known she was having a bad day and been more calm with her.

I soon found myself sat with my back against the door of my room. It was times like this that I was glad that here in the Ravenclaw tower we all had separate rooms because my whole body was shaking. With anger or something else, I couldn't decide. I couldn't explain exactly why I was so emotional, but I felt so connected to Millicent for an extremely long time and for us to fall out just before summer.

A little while later someone knocked on my door, but I didn't answer so eventually whoever it was went away and I was left sitting alone with my thoughts.

"You're going to hate yourself for this," I whispered as I rummaged around in my trunk and pulled out a bottle of beer. I settled in my bay window gazing out across the grounds, occasionally taking a sip from the bottle nestled between my legs.

I couldn't believe I was so annoyed. Over the last year, whilst my roommates had been getting into all sorts of trouble with their defence club, I'd been getting to know Millicent, a girl I probably wouldn't have gotten to know if I'd got involved in the DA.


End file.
